CommonWealth » Immigration
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CommonWealth Magazine provides news articles and opinions on Immigration Laws and other updates related to immigrants in Massachusetts. CommonWealth Magazine covers politics, policy, ideas, and civic life, with an emphasis on investigative reporting, in-depth analysis, and political mapping. We also provide a forum for policymakers and politicians to set forth their opinions.
CommonWealth » Immigration
1w ago
WITH THE ECONOMIC and infrastructural strains of immigration a top concern nationally and in Massachusetts, a new study from Boston University offers a data-focused counterpoint. Immigrants are not only essential to many industries, the study argues, but also key to addressing both an aging US population and younger people moving from Massachusetts to more affordable […]
The post New BU study touts immigration as essential to Mass. economy appeared first on CommonWealth Beacon ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
2w ago
Hosting a family, however, is one way I can assert my values in this troubling time. I encourage others to find ways to do the same.
The post Learning firsthand the value of helping immigrants appeared first on CommonWealth Beacon ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
2M ago
What is remarkable is our individual and collective failure to confront these wrongdoings around our kitchen tables, within our classrooms, and in our halls of power. This is not just a policy failure; it’s a moral failure that makes us complicit in perpetuating racial injustice.
The post Schoolhouse doors increasingly close to children of color appeared first on CommonWealth Beacon ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
4M ago
WHILE THE OPENING days of the Republican National Convention featured lots of anti-immigrant red meat, and heard Wednesday night from GOP vice presidential pick – and Yale Law School grad – J.D. Vance, who has made hay taking big swings at US higher education, a new paper from a Boston-based free-market-oriented think tank takes a very different tack on the two issues, arguing that smarter, more welcoming policies on international students could unlock billions of dollars in new economic activity and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US.
The paper from the Pioneer Institute sa ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
4M ago
GOV. MAURA HEALEY disclosed early Tuesday morning that she sent aides to the country’s southern border to put out the word that Massachusetts emergency shelters are full.
“This trip is an important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the US and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts,” said Emergency Assistance Director General Scott Rice, who is leading the five-member team. “It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingl ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
6M ago
STATE OFFICIALS are planning to open an overflow shelter at a former Norfolk correctional facility next month that can accommodate about 140 families, a move from the Healey administration that drew frustration from a Republican lawmaker.
The Bay State Correctional Center, a former minimum-security prison that closed in 2015, is slated to house around 450 individuals starting in mid-June, Rep. Marcus Vaughn of Wrentham said in a letter posted on social media Friday evening.
“I regret to inform you that Norfolk has been chosen as the next site for an overflow shelter, a decisio ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
7M ago
SENATE AND HOUSE negotiators on Wednesday proposed a new nine-month limit on how long families can stay in the state’s emergency shelters, while authorizing withdrawals up to $426 million from a state savings account to spend on the ongoing crisis.
Top lawmakers crafting the compromise supplemental budget bill landed on pulling an additional $251 million for fiscal 2024 from the so-called Transitional Escrow Account, a one-time revenue source that boasts a balance of $863 million. The Senate’s chief negotiator, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Michael Rodrigues, said in a statement that the ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
7M ago
THIS FRIDAY, the University of Massachusetts community will gather in Amherst to celebrate the inauguration of UMass Amherst’s 31st leader, Chancellor Javier Reyes.
Dr. Reyes was born and raised in Mexico City, where he attended Tecnológico de Monterrey. He came to the United States in the late 1990s to pursue his doctorate in economics at Texas A&M University, and has been a rising star in higher education ever since. He has served in faculty and academic leadership positions at the University of Arkansas, West Virginia University, and the University of Illinois, Chicago. As chancellor a ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
7M ago
THE HOUSING CRISIS in Massachusetts is a moral travesty affecting us at every level, and its contrast to the wealth invested in gleaming office space could not be starker.
At the front lines are homeless children and their families. We’ve seen the heartbreaking images – families with young children forced to sleep on Logan Airport’s floors because there is no space in the region’s emergency shelter system. And we’ve also read the headlines about empty offices in commercial real estate buildings around Boston, indeed across Massachusetts. There are literally millions of square feet of vacant s ..read more
CommonWealth » Immigration
7M ago
LESS THAN 20 MONTHS ago, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent a planeload of Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard to give Massachusetts a taste of what it’s like to have unexpected visitors show up on the doorstep.
The DeSantis stunt grabbed a lot of attention, but the plane carried only 48 migrants and it was fairly easy for the state to support them. In the end, immigration for most Massachusetts residents remained a distant, low priority issue.
But starting in the second half of last year, more and more migrants started to arrive in Massachusetts. And as they arrived and began to overwhelm t ..read more